10.5 cm FlaK 38 and 12.8 cm FlaK 40: The Heavy Hitters
88mm Flak? That’s cute!
Enter the 10.5 cm FlaK 38 and 12.8 cm FlaK 40 which sometimes came in Flakzwilling (twin-gun) flavour!
The 10.5 cm FlaK 38
The 10.5cm AA gun was too heavy to be mounted on a vehicle and was therefore strictly used on static mounts. The 10.5 cm SK C/33 naval version was found on most German Cruisers and Battleships of WWII and some were fitted to French navy ships after the war!
The 12.8 cm FlaK 40
As for the 12.8 cm FlaK 40, those monsters were mounted on the Flak Towers protecting Berlin, Vienna and Hamburg. Those twin 128mm Flak guns were amongst the best anti-air guns of the Second World War.
The gun fired a 27.9 kg shell at 880 m/s to a maximum ceiling of 14,800 m (48,556 ft). Compared with the 88 mm FlaK 18 & 36, the FlaK 40 used a powder charge four times as great.
The 12.8cm Flak guns mounted on the Zoo Flak Tower in Berlin were used to great effect against Red Army tanks during the Battle of Berlin in 1945.
-RBM.
